Former Loudoun Superintendent Faces New Trial: Report

LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA — After a conviction was set aside for former Loudoun County Public Schools Superintendent Scott Ziegler, a new trial has been scheduled for 2025.

While LCPS drew national attention for its handling of two sexual assaults in 2021, Ziegler's case in court focuses on another complaint. The case relates to an accusation of Ziegler firing a special education teacher who expressed concerns about being inappropriately touched by a student, court records showed.

A jury had found Ziegler guilty of retaliatory firing of a school teacher in September 2023. In March, a judge set aside that conviction against Ziegler and sought a new trial, the Associated Press reported.

According to WTOP, that new trial is set for February 2025. "Faulty jury instructions" was cited as the reason for a new trial, the news outlet reported.

The teacher, Erin Brooks, was awarded the Special Education Advisory Committee Excellence Award in 2021 for her work in the classroom, her LinkedIn profile says. She worked at Rosa Lee Carter Elementary School in Ashburn before her contract was not renewed in 2022 after coming forward by inappropriate touching by a student, according to FOX 5.

The prosecution in the retaliation case was led by Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, who along with Gov. Glenn Youngkin had criticized the school system for its handling of two sexual assault cases involving a then-15-year-old boy. The retaliation against a teacher case was the only conviction resulting from Miyares' investigation of LCPS following the sexual assaults.